This research studied prevalence, manifestation, and associated factors of Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) in school band directors. Band directors (N = 625) who were members of the National Association of Music Education (NAfME) completed the survey which included the Kenny Music Performance Anxiety Inventory (K-MPAI) and demographic questions.…

The visibility and popularity of marching bands at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) represents a multi-generational tradition of marching and musical excellence. With performances that reach national and international audiences through large viewership, HBCU marching band culture is elevated to artistic prominence with each…

The purpose of this multiple explanatory case study was to investigate the preparation of underserved school band programs for a Music Performance Assessment (MPA). Specifically, I examined racial, economic, and social inequalities, which are well documented in the research literature, and the related achievement gaps of underserved public school…

Parental involvement in schoolwork has been shown to positively correlate with academic achievement in the classroom. It is widely accepted that parental involvement has a positive effect on student musical learning. Through the past 50 years, music education researchers have been examining how parental involvement affecting their student's…

The COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected instructional practices at universities around the world, necessitating mostly virtual instruction for safety reasons. Particularly impacted were the performing arts, which often rely on live, in-person interaction. In the field of music, professors of conducting were forced to reconsider their teaching…

This qualitative multiple case study was designed to investigate the experiences and the perceptions of three different collegiate brass instrumentalists with physical disabilities. I sought to discern the meaning of inclusion to students with disabilities and the state of current inclusive practices. I also sought to understand their challenges…

The American Brass Band Movement (1835-1892) is an important period within music history that is disproportionally and inadequately taught in collegiate music history classrooms. By learning about America's band history and by performing in these ensembles, future music educators will be able to have a more well-rounded understanding of the…

This research uses three of the lesser-known concerti by Antonio Vivaldi to discuss how the musical material in these concerti is equally suitable to those concerti that have found popularity through printed editions earlier in the twentieth century, such as RV 484 in E minor. These concerti are excellent resources for musicianship development for…

On November 15, 1981, the University of Illinois British Brass Band performed its first concert, conducted by University of Illinois Assistant Director of Bands James Curnow. The ensemble's antecedents lay in the brass bands established in Victorian England that were populated by members of the working classes, while its 1980s founding occurred in…

Despite music education being endorsed by researchers as an effective tool to improve the social-emotional competence of students who live in poverty, African American students, who are overrepresented among the population of students who live in poverty, often fail to take advantage of music education programs (Elpus & Abril, 2011; Hoffman…

This dissertation consists of three projects that I designed to examine high school band directors' and collegiate musicians' experiences and perceptions of democratic educational processes within concert band rehearsals. The first investigation is a review of literature about democratic educational principles and their application in non-music…

Former President of the International Trombone Association and Professor of Trombone at the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Nathaniel Brickens is a highly regarded pedagogue and performer in the trombone world. He has maintained a top-notch trombone studio while producing orchestral musicians, acclaimed soloists and aspiring college professors…

Effective pre-collegiate trumpet instruction is essential in preparing students for the first year of collegiate trumpet study. During the first year of college, students often find themselves overwhelmed with new demands and high expectations. By incorporating the teaching ideologies of American trumpet pedagogues Vincent Cichowicz, James Stamp,…

As the music education profession continues to adapt to the needs of an increasingly pluralistic society, scholars and practitioners have begun to concern themselves with issues of social justice (e.g., equity, diversity, inclusion, or access). For band directors, one way to address such topics is through the purposeful programming of music by…

Graduate wind conducting programs prepare students to teach collegiate band and conducting techniques through musical curricular content and apprenticeship in administrative tasks. Despite their important role, there is little research examining the structure of these programs beyond a few studies of their course requirements. The purpose of this…